Manchester United have triggered a clause in Juan Mata s contract, extending his stay at Old Trafford by an extra year until June 2019.
Mata s deal was due to expire at end of the season, but the Red Devils have opted to activate their option to prolong his stay by a further 12 months.
And United boss Jose Mourinho, who sold Mata to United from Chelsea in January 2014, talked up the attacking midfielder s importance to his plans.
Mata is very important. When I arrived one-and-a-half years ago, [they said], Mata is in trouble, in trouble, in trouble , and now he s getting an extension of one more year, Mourinho told a news conference ahead of Wednesday s trip to Wembley to face Tottenham.
An important player for me; important player for the club; importa…
Lionel Messi is again being linked with a move to Inter.
Messi, 33, sensationally requested to leave Barcelona during the close season, but ended up staying with the LaLiga giants.
However, the six-time Ballon d Or winner is widely expected to leave Camp Nou when his contract expires at season s end.
TOP STORY – MESSI S BEST OFFER IS FROM INTER
Messi does not want to renew at Barcelona and his best offer is from Inter, according to OK Diario.
The Argentina star has spent his entire professional career at Barcelona, winning 10 LaLiga titles and four Champions Leagues among numerous other trophies.
Messi was linked to Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter during the close season.
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According to Sport, Antoine Griezmann has reached an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain to play at the Parc Des Princes from next season.
The French forward has informed current club Atletico Madrid about his wish to leave the Spanish capital this summer. Last year, he was very close to joining Barcelona but he rejected their offer in the end and opted to stay where he was. He has been linked with a move to the Camp Nou again, but this time it was Barcelona who reportedly had second thoughts about signing him.
And now, it appears that PSG, who already snatched Neymar from Barcelona for a world-record fee back in 2017, are ready to take advantage of the Catalans indecision and snatch their long-term target as well.
In turn, Atletico are interested in signing Edin…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not expecting Marcus Rashford to return to action for Manchester United until after the next international break.
The England forward underwent an operation on a long-standing shoulder issue in July and has yet to feature for United this season.
Rashford was back in training at Carrington last month and was thought to be close to a return to the matchday squad, but Solskjaer will not rush back the 23-year-old.
Asked for a fitness update on Rashford and Alex Telles, who has been ruled out since injuring his ankle in pre-season, Solskjaer told MUTV: Yeah, it s going well.
They ve worked really hard, both of them. Alex is a bit further on than Marcus. I don t think we ll see Marcus until after the international break.
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David Moyes believes Jesse Lingard can push for an England recall after an impressive debut for West Ham on Wednesday.
Lingard, who joined West Ham on loan from Manchester United last month, marked his debut with a brace in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa.
He became just the second player to score twice on his Premier League debut for the club, after Trevor Sinclair against Everton in January 1998.
A 24-time England international, Lingard last played for his country in mid-2019, but Moyes believes the form he showed against Villa could lead to a recall.
I think he s still getting used to us and we re getting used to him, but we re thrilled because he made a difference to the team, the West Ham manager told BT Sport.
If he keeps up that form, it won t…
Nottingham Forest have appointed Billy Davies as their new manager.
The 48-year-old Scot replaces his fellow countryman Alex McLeish, who left the club on Tuesday after just 40 days at the City Ground.
This will be Davies second stint in charge of Forest, whom he twice led to the play-offs during his two-and-a-half-year stint between 2008 and 2011.
Speaking to the club s official website, chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi declared: I’m delighted to welcome Billy back to our club and really look forward to working closely with him.
Billy has unfinished business with the Reds and we know how hungry he is for success. In returning to the City Ground we believe his leadership will help us fulfil our ambition of making it to the Premier League.
Billy is …
Thomas Tuchel and Bayern Munich were left fuming after Matthijs de Ligt s contentious late strike was disallowed in their semi-final defeat to Real Madrid.
Bayern crashed out 4-3 on aggregate at Santiago Bernabeu after a dramatic double from substitute Joselu saw the hosts snatch victory to advance to the final on June 1.
Tuchel s side thought they had forced extra-time when De Ligt had the ball in the net, but the referee had already blown his whistle after the linesman raised his flag, so VAR could not intervene.
The replays showed that the original decision was closer than first thought, and the head coach bemoaned the lack of consistency after Madrid s second goal was awarded following a VAR review.
I think it s pretty clear and there is no doubt tha…
The adjudicatory chamber of FIFA s Ethics Committee has provided Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini with the written reasons for their eight-year suspensions from football.
The pair, scrutinised for a $2million payment made to UEFA president Platini by FIFA in 2011, were banned from all football-related activity in December after being judged to have broken rules on conflicts of interest, breach of loyalty and offering or receiving gifts.
By sending them written reasons for the punishments, the Ethics Committee has fulfilled its obligation to do so in the first half of January.
Blatter and Platini had already signalled an intention to appeal and their lawyers now have the opportunity to do so after receiving the document.
If they chose to do so, their initia…
Robert Lewandowski moved on to 50 Bayern Munich goals as his double earned a 2-1 win at Hamburg on Friday to mark the return from the Bundesliga s mid-season break.
Pep Guardiola s team have handed Hamburg six emphatic beatings by five goals or more since 2011, but they were made to work much harder this time around.
Lewandowski gave Bayern a first-half lead from the penalty spot, but a Xabi Alonso own goal shortly after the break had the match briefly in the balance.
However, an instinctive finish by Lewandowski gave the away side a narrow victory that moves them 11 points clear of Borussia Dortmund, who play Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday, at the top of the table.
Hamburg, meanwhile, have only won one of their last eight home matches in the lea…
Pep Guardiola insisted Manchester City s squad harbour no doubts over Gabriel Jesus ability to step up and fill the void left by the injured Sergio Aguero.
Jesus ended a five-match scoreless run in the Premier League with City s first two goals in a 4-1 rout of Burnley at Turf Moor on Tuesday.
Aguero has missed the past two league matches with a thigh injury sustained in a 2-1 win over Chelsea, and is also set to be out for the Manchester derby on Saturday.
However, Guardiola is adamant none of City s players or coaching staff had any concerns over Jesus form.
Of course it s not easy [replacing Aguero] but the team doesn t have doubts about him, Guardiola told Amazon Prime.
As a striker sometimes you score, sometimes not. We need the quality o…